40 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 | Presbyterians Today

Celebrating

The meaning of the Reformation today

BY BETH SHALOM HESSEL

years of Protestantism

Presbyterians Today | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 41

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95

Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle church

in Germany. His list of questions and propositions

sparked the Protestant Reformation. The event inspired

thousands to rethink their relationships with God and the

church, including the founders of the Presbyterian Church.

The Reformation ideas spread quickly across Europe

and influenced people like John Calvin and

John Knox, profound influencers of the

Presbyterian faith.

In 1555 the fiery Scottish

reformer John Knox was exiled

when Roman Catholic Mary

Tudor rose to the English

throne. He became part

of a fellowship of reli-

gious refugees from

throughout Europe

who thronged to

havens like Geneva.

Knox immersed

himself in studies

under the French

theologian John

Calvin and min-

istered to other

Scott ish- and

English-speaking

refugees. The city

reverberated with the

polyglot ideas of the

Reformation. Calvin’s

theology envisioned a

model city in which mag-

istrates and ministers

ruled together and the Bible

informed the shape of society.

In the ferment of this experi-

ment to bring the kingdom of God closer

to earth, Calvin and the Reformed

church urged citizens to exercise sober

and useful lives. Children attended school to become

literate in the Word of God. Parents led their families in

daily devotions. Church and city leaders oversaw disci-

pline. Worship rightly ordered included robust singing of

psalms, hearing of Scriptures and sermons, and reception

of sacraments as well as ministry to neighbors outside the

church. Knox marveled about his time in Geneva, calling

the city “the most perfect school of Christ that ever was in

the earth since the days of the apostles.”

The influence of refugees

Knox joined a large community of refugees in Geneva

who strained the social order. Citizens of Geneva feared

losing their power as exiles from France, England and

elsewhere grew in number and economic success. Even

as the needs of new refugees strained the city budget,

many assimilated into the community and became valued

members of society. The challenge Genevans faced was

how to balance their religious call to hospitality with their

sense of being overwhelmed by the vast numbers of

newcomers arriving monthly. How could

they trust their sovereign God in what

felt like chaos?

The Rev. Cynthia Jarvis,

pastor of Chestnut Hill

Presbyterian Church in

Philadelphia, recognizes

a similar push and pull

in our churches today.

She contends that

the “Reformed tradi-

tion’s belief in God’s

sovereignty leads

Presbyterians, at

our best, to take

the risk of liberty

within the social

order, trusting

that the One who

rules incognito —

yet is up to some-

thing in human

history — is finally

the One who will

reign.

“That means that

our witness to the ‘Jesus

Christ, the one Word of God

which we have to hear and

which we have to trust and obey

in life and in death’ (Barmen 8.11)

lives in a tension that those on the polit-

ical left would like to dissolve by institu-

tionalizing various utopian visions and

that those on the right would like to resolve by legislat-

ing morality.” The Genevan model existed in the strain

between demands for unity and purity, as do we.

Yet Calvin’s emphasis on placing our full trust in God

aims to infuse every aspect of our life with gratitude and

faith. Calvin intended his doctrine of election to ease the

anxieties of a people living in an age of plague, war and

dislocation. He believed that as we grow in trust of God

and love for God, we enlarge our ability to respond with

the totality of our lives to God’s call to love and service.

Worship and social justice

In the Geneva Ordinances that Calvin created in 1547

PRESBYTERIANHISTO

RICALSO

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John Calvin

42 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 | Presbyterians Today

to ensure orderly living in accor-

dance with “God’s law,” he stipulated

that churches should remain closed

when not in use for worship. In part,

Calvin wanted to ensure that no one

used the churches for “superstitious

reasons.” Closing the church doors

also focused worship on glorifying

God through prayer and praise while

reminding Genevans that the rest of

their days were for serving God by

serving their neighbor.

This reflects Luther’s challenge to

the Catholic Church’s emphasis on

indulgences instead of acts of mercy.

All of the reformers emphasized that

our salvation comes through God’s

grace in the death and resurrec-

tion of Jesus Christ. Worship in the

church and work outside the church

exist as acts of thanksgiving.

In her work as executive presby-

ter of the Presbytery of Philadelphia,

the Rev. Ruth Santana-Grace sees

this hunger for the new work of God.

“The power of the Holy Spirit

is constantly breaking into the

darkness of humanity in new and

relevant ways — in ways that often

require a ‘re-formation’ of those tra-

ditions and assumptions that ‘have

been,’ ” she said. As bearers of the

gospel, we are called to be mindful

of this truth as we seek to embody

resurrection hope for this generation.

Revolutionary communication

Gutenberg’s printing press and the

reformers’ emphasis on reaching

people in their own vernacular

provided a powerful means for the

gospel to transform lives.

Geneva served as a hub of the

nascent printing trade, employ-

ing many skilled printers to

publish sermons, books and Bibles

in common languages that a

network dispersed throughout the

Reformation communities of Europe.

In Geneva, exiles and native-born

residents struggled with differ-

ences but were reminded by Calvin

of the overwhelming sovereignty

of God and the primacy of Christ’s

command to love God and to love our

neighbors.

The Rev. Blake Richter, pastor at

Westminster Presbyterian Church

in DeKalb, Illinois, and a producer of

the PC(USA) resource John Calvin:

His Life & Legacy, believes we are in

another time of change.

“Within a generation, worship,

theology, faith formation, church

governance and the church’s rela-

tionship to the culture were trans-

formed. What they achieved in light

of the society change, prompted in

part by the printing press, can be a

resource as we face a time of societal

change prompted by the digital revo-

lution,” he said.

“It is interesting to note that

the church in Calvin’s Geneva had

a lively interest in teaching its

members to read. By better equip-

ping our members to use the vast

digital resources available, we can

give them a chance to study, discuss

and proclaim their faith in powerful

ways.”

CHECK IT OUT!

Reformation resource from the 2018 Book of Common Worship

This prayer was originally prepared for the Lutheran-Catholic Common

Commemoration of the Reformation. The full prayer will be included in a forth-

coming revision to the Presbyterian Book of Common Worship (WJKP, 2018).

God of life, heal painful memories,

transform all complacency, indifference and ignorance,

pour out a spirit of reconciliation.

Turn us to you and one another.

Show us your mercy! Hear our prayer!

God of love, your son Jesus reveals the mystery of love among us.

Strengthen that unity that you alone sustain in our diversity.

Show us your mercy! Hear our prayer!

God our sustenance,

bring us together at your eucharistic table,

and nurture within and among us a communion rooted in your love.

Show us your mercy! Hear our prayer!

Calvin intended his

doctrine of election to

ease the anxieties of

a people living in an

age of plague, war and

dislocation. He believed

that as we grow in trust

of God and love for

God, we enlarge our

ability to respond with

the totality of our lives

to God’s call to love

and service.

Presbyterians Today | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 43

The issues of refugees, worship,

social justice and changing com-

munication fueled the Protestant

Reformation 500 years ago and

are challenging us today. We

Presbyterians exist in an imperfect

school of Christ. But we exist here

through the grace and mercy of our

sovereign God, who has chosen us

and called us to serve in new and

always re-forming ways.

Beth Shalom Hessel is the executive director

of the Presbyterian Historical Society in

Philadelphia and an associate stated clerk

in the Office of the General Assembly,

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

This year marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the church door in

Wittenberg. Engraved by Johann Leonhard Raab, from a drawing by F. Lessing. New York: T. Whittaker,

ca. 1850 [Image No. 4434].

COURTESY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY